Dr. Gifford: 2 kids died from H1N1

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) - The two Rhode Island girls who died within a week of each other died from the H1N1 flu virus , according to Dr. David Gifford, director of the Rhode Island Department of Health.

Victoria Sousa , 12, of Bristol died last Monday and, most recently, Skyla J. Reposa-Alves, 12, of Lincoln died over the weekend at Hasbro Children's Hospital.

Even though autopsy results are still pending, Gifford said both girls died from H1N1.

"I think it's sufficient to say that both of them appear to have died from H1N1," he said.

During a Tuesday morning briefing, Gifford also confirmed an adult between 40- and 50-years-old who died Monday may have also had the virus. That person had an underlying medical condition, Gifford said.

Though sad, Gifford said the deaths are not unexpected.

"We're seeing a lot people become ill over a short amount of time. And, as we knew, we expected to see some deaths with that," he said.

During the briefing, Gifford also updated the first round of school-based vaccination clinics. He said about 76 percent of students at the 10 participating schools turned out to get their vaccination.

(See a full list of scheduled school-based H1N1 flu clinics)

He said health officials were satisfied with the way the clinics were progressing.

Another 14 schools are scheduled to have clinics Tuesday afternoon.